Phantom's VSHG Mod

With the help of Plague, my new project this weekend.



I am going to take pictures of the process and post them when I am finished.

 

Looking forward to the result.

 

What kind of Joysticks are you using?

 

here's a pic if you wanted to see how a 4716 pad + cthulhu/chimp would look like fitted in a vshg.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n5/akuma001/PICT0007-1.jpg

the 4716 is a bit bigger than the pcb used in plague's stick so you would need to dremel down part of the inside to make things fit like i have them.

with the pcb's installed like in the pic above, you can run the rest of the wiring from cthulhu/chimp direct to the vshg pcb like the kod vshg tutorial (you just don't connect the d+ & d- from vshg pcb to anything) and you can use the existing quick disconnects, 5 pin harness, and long pcb buttons without alot of rewiring.

so basically

1. wire madcatz pad to chimp pad like normal.
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n5/akuma001/IMG_0799.jpg
2. modify the case so it can fit like so.
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n5/akuma001/PICT0007-1.jpg
3. from the cthulhu/chimp holes, wire direct to the vshg pcb like in the kod tutorial.
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n5/akuma001/PICT0007-1-1.jpg (crappy pic but you should get the idea)
4. cut the usb wire from the vshg pcb and extend the wires to reach your chimp pcb.
5. put everything back together.

the point of doing it this way is to be able to use the existing button and stick wiring from the vshg pcb without cutting anything and to be able to fit the pcb's in comfortably.

anyways, thought i'd share since i've done a few of them this way.

good luck guys.

 

I did not want to cut the case. I fit the 4716 under the start button. It fits, and there is no rattle.

 

nice!

 

JLF-TP-8YT-SK Sanwa

 

So clean!

 

Awesome. It's good to get a thumbs up from you.

 

Damn homie, that's a clean job.

 

I updated the pictures of my ImageShack account, and no I cannot go back and edit my old post, so... here is everything all over again. I also posted this on my clan's forums, they are not as into fighters (or joystick modding) as I am, so some of this information will seem redundant to most, if not all of you guys here.

I wanted to invest in some new arcade sticks, preferably the Madcatz Tournament Edition arcade sticks. The wife would have nothing of it, claiming that the VSHG arcade sticks take up way to much room as it is. I went to the Inter-webs, and ordered a shit-ton-o-parts, to modify my VSHG arcade sticks. The plan was to use a common ground PS3 pcb (printed circuit board) and a common ground 360 pcb and fuse them together into one super arcade stick that I can use on both systems (using only one USB cable). :guns:



The build was pretty straight forward. As an added incentive, if I fucked this up, my wife have had my balls. I was not intending this to be a tutorial, but one could follow the album and with a little ingenuity, and the right parts, to create their own custom arcade stick.

List of Parts/Materials I used:
1. Patience
2. 2x VSHG (Virtua Stick High Grade)
3. 2x CHImp PCB (PlayStation3)
3. 2x Madcatz 360 Wired Controller PCB (model 4716)
4. 2x JLF-TP-8YT-SK Sanwa Joysticks
5. 2x Sanwa LB-35 Balltops (Yellow)
5. 2x Sanwa OBSF-24 24MM Pushbuttons (Start buttons)
6. 12x Sanwa OBSF-30 30MM Pushbuttons (360 Color Scheme)
7. 20x 1K ~ 10K Ohm resistors
8. 22 Gauge Stranded Wire (Two colors. Red for signal. Black for ground)
9. .110" 22 Gauge Quick Disconnects
10. Wire Stripper/Crimper
11. Soldering Iron
12. Small Gauge 60/40 Rosin-core solder
13. Multimeter
14. Windows PC (To check to see if everything works properly)
15. Patience

My parts were purchased from Radio Shack, Electronics Warehouse, and GamingNow.

The new Chimp board combines a PS3/PC "Cthulhu" pcb (common ground custom PS3 pcb) with an "Imp" (common ground custom IC USB switch) on one board. Chimps are designed to be soldered to a common ground Xbox 360 pad. I used the Madcatz 4716, as it is the best board out there for this type of mod. Common ground means that I only needed to use one ground wire per pcb instead of pairing a ground wire to a signal wire for each input. If you plan on building a dual mod arcade stick or a 360 only arcade stick with the 4716, be sure it does not have the "inverter switch" on the back. New models of the 4716 do not use a common ground, and can be identified as having the inverter switch.

Back to the Chimp. The idea was to get the VSHG arcade stick will work on a PS3 or Xbox 360 over a single USB cable. This works because of the Chimp console auto-detection. When the Chimp sees that it is plugged into an Xbox 360 console, control will be seamlessly handed over to the Xbox 360 pad, meaning I can just plug in and go on either console or PC.

While I had the guts open, I replaced the joystick and push buttons with newer parts. The VSHG arcade sticks already used Sanwa parts (same parts on all Japanese Virtua Fighter cabinets), but I have played on them for years, and they needed to be replaced due to wear and tear. Since the PlayStation button assignments are printed right on the faceplate, I used the 360 color scheme when I replaced the push buttons to make it easier identify the push buttons for each system. The ball top, and new start buttons were just for aesthetics.

I started by opening up the bottom of the stick. There are six screws to remove. The bottom plate is a solid piece of metal, with another piece of metal underneath to give the stick weight.



I removed the six nuts that hold the faceplate to the base of the stick. I then turned the stick over and popped off the faceplate.



Next, I removed the quick disconnects, the pcb, wiring, joystiq, and buttons. It left me with the empty shell. To remove the pcb, I had to cut the USB connector on the pcb side, as close to the pcb as I could get. I kept the cable, which has five wires "exposed;" D+ (data up), D- (data down), VCC (voltage), GND, "large" GND. I put this aside to save for later.



I fit the new joystiq and buttons into the base. This is sort of a preview of the finished product. There are no wires yet "under the hood." The buttons are arranged on their "side." I did not make a mistake on the button assignments. The layout is the optimal (and default) layout for VF5. Block (blue) = thumb; Punch (yellow) = index finger; Kick (red) = middle finger. The other buttons are not used for VF5, but I left the X/X, L1/LB, R1/RB buttons for games like Street Fighter. The Home/Dashboard, Start/Forward, Select/Back, L2/LT, R2/RT are the can be identified by the small buttons that line the top of the faceplate.



In order to fit everything "under the hood," I had to bend the push-button terminals to one side.



I then wired up the common ground.



Then I added the signal wires.



I used a multimeter to check my work.



The ChImp boards came disassembled...

 

... but were no trouble to assemble.



There is a small pcb for the buttons on the top of the faceplate. I had to remove, and rewire the pcb to prepare it for the ChImp board.



I then soldered the two pcb's together with the USB I set aside earlier.



I finished the PlayStation3 side of the mod by soldering up the ground wire, and signal wires from the push-buttons and the joystick. Not shown; I checked the mod with my PC and made sure that everything worked. My PC recognized the pcb properly, and each button and direction of the joystick registered.



Next it was time to start on the 4716 Madcatz 360 portion of the mod. First, I had to ditch all the "plastic," as I only needed the pcb inside.




It is important to note that this is a common ground pcb, which means that I only need one ground wire for the entire pcb. Less wires is a good thing.



I wired up the ground, replaced the USB, and wired up the signal wires.



It started to get a little "messy" after that, as I had to combine the two pcb's and stuff it all in the base of the VSHG.



A few zip-ties, some double sided mounting tape, and work "under the hood" is finished. I showed these pics to a few modding buddies of mine, and they were impressed with how clean it all looked, which made me feel pretty good. This being my first mod and all.

 

Screwed everything back together, and plugged them into my 360 to make sure they worked. You may notice that the L1/LB, R1/RB buttons are the original black/grey and not the black/white from earlier pics. The wife did not like the white, and convinced me that changing them back would look better. So I didn't reuse old, used parts, I popped the plungers out of the old buttons and used them in the new parts.



They work like a dream. No, more like magic! I plug them into my PlayStation3, and they work. I plug them into my Xbox 360, and they work! Just as advertised, no switch, no holding button combination. Best of all, using the new PlayStation3 Cthulhu component, I have rid myself of a nagging Virtua Stick High Grade problem, and can now use more than three button inputs at a time on games other than Virtua Fighter.

Let's be serious though, all this was really so I can play Virtua Fighter 5 (Version C) on my 360 the way it was meant to be played.

 

That's awesome man. Very clean mod! I have a modded high grade too. Playing VF on it feels so sweet!

 

Kudos man!

This is your very first mod?!

You have inspired me. One day I'm going to follow suit and mod my VSHG just like yours.

 

Yup. This is my first mod.

 

excellent wiring but why god why did you get rid of the awesome JLF and dark-hai buttons ?!!?

 

I replaced it with a newer JLF, so no problem there. As for the buttons, they are still Sanwa, and in the 360 color scheme, as is pretty standard for this mod.

 

I did a VSHG mod a few months ago with the IMP+Chutulu. If I knew this was coming out(CHIMP)I would of waited. I wish my VSHG looked like yours. My baby is worn the fuck out. I need to get a new vinyl printing for the faceplate.